Sam Vyhlidal, Mountainside outlast Tualatin in 6A Open thriller: 5 takeaways

Vyhlidal has four touchdowns for the Mavericks, who erase a late 10-point deficit

The Mountainside Mavericks celebrate after their 44-39 win over the Tualatin Timberwolves in the first round of the 6A Open playoffs. Mountainside will face top-seeded Lake Oswego next week. / Photo by Dan Brood

BEAVERTON — Kellen Hicks needed just two words to sum things up perfectly.

“Crazy game. Crazy game,” the Mountainside senior receiver said with both a smile and a look of relief.

Hicks’ description actually might be a bit of an understatement.

In a game that featured plenty of lead changes, plenty of momentum changes and big plays galore and wasn’t decided until a penalty flag dropped on the final play, the Mavericks downed Tualatin 44-39 in a thrilling and, yes, crazy Class 6A football Open first-round playoff contest Friday at Mountainside High School.

“This is huge,” said Mountainside junior tight end Sam Vyhlidal, who had four touchdowns. “It’s a huge team win — everyone from the O-line to the D-line, the quarterbacks, running backs, everyone on the sidelines. Everyone was picking each other up. Everyone on the field executed. It feels amazing.”

“This means a whole lot, but at the same time, it just means that we stay alive,” said Mavericks junior quarterback Cade Mitchell, who threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns. “We’re on a mission. We won our league, and now we want to go win state.”

“It was just a whole-team effort. Everyone stepped up,” Hicks said. “We just kept fighting. We were down at half, but we battled together and came back and won.”

Mountainside, which rallied from a 33-23 deficit late in the third quarter, improved to 8-2. The Metro League champions will face top-seeded Lake Oswego in an Open quarterfinal at Lake Oswego High School.

Tualatin finished its season 6-4.

“It was a hard-fought battle,” said Tualatin sophomore Cole Hachmeister, who had an 81-yard touchdown run. “Our team gave it our all, but in the end, we couldn’t come out with it. But I’m just thankful for the season that we got to have.”

“There were a lot of turn of events,” said senior Calvin Evans, who had a spectacular all-around performance for the Timberwolves. “There were a lot of big plays. But we can’t change it.”

Here are five takeaways from Friday night’s matchup:

Sam Vyhlidal: He’s that dog

After the thrilling victory, players on the Mountainside team all got a smile when talking about one teammate — Vyhlidal.

“Dude, he’s just a dog. He’s got it all — hurdling, spinning around people. He’s a dog, man,” Hicks said of 6-foot-4, 215-pound Vyhlidal. “He’s done it all season. He’s who we rely on. He’s the core of this team. He’s just a dog.”

“Sam’s a dog — that’s all I can say about him,” Mitchell said. “He gets us better at practice every day, and it shows on the field. Sam’s a big leader on our team.”

A big leader and, in Friday’s playoff victory, a big performer.

Vyhlidal had nine carries for 77 yards and three touchdowns and five receptions for 104 yards and a score. He scored three touchdowns in the final 12 minutes and 22 seconds, including what turned out to be a winning 40-yard touchdown reception with 8:15 left.

Sam Vyhlidal's 40-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter proved to be the winner for Mountainside. / Photo by Dan Brood

“I knew I had to come out here and just do my job,” Vyhlidal said. “It’s an 11-man sport, and I’ve got to trust my brothers beside me. So, I know if I come out here, do my best, do my job, that my brothers are going to do the same thing.”

When told of his teammates referring to him as ‘a dog,’ Vyhlidal got a smile.

“That’s a great compliment,” he said. “Those guys are dogs, too.”

Down 10, no worries for Mountainside

The athletic Tualatin squad took its biggest lead, 33-23, when Evans connected on a 43-yard field goal with 6:40 to play in the third quarter.

The Mavericks still faced that 10-point deficit going to the final minute of the period. But they weren’t bothered by it at all.

“We were thinking, ‘Don’t quit; we can’t quit,’” Mitchell said. “We knew it was just a two-score game, and we come back from adversity all the time.”

“We didn’t even worry about it,” Vyhlidal said. “We knew what we had to do. We didn’t stumble, and we got the job done. We do what we do.”

What Vyhlidal did — behind Mountainside’s offensive line, including junior James Hartshorn, sophomore Isaiah Ormond, senior Brayden Beasley, junior Aiden Jakubauskas and junior Reed Hicks, among others — was power his way for a 5-yard touchdown run, which trimmed the Tualatin lead to 33-30 with 2 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Mavericks recovered a Timberwolf fumble on the ensuing kickoff. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Vyhlidal scored from 10 yards to give Mountainside the lead.

After Hachmeister’s long touchdown run, the Mavericks had to rally again.

Facing fourth-and-1 on the Tualatin 40-yard line, Mountainside, which appeared to be lined up in a power running formation, instead went with a play-action pass, with Mitchell finding Vyhlidal wide open down the left side for a go-ahead touchdown.

“We put that in actually just last week,” Mitchell said. “We knew that, when it came down to the wire like that, they were going to send the house. We just had to get the job done.”

Cade Mitchell passed for 282 yards and two touchdowns for Mountainside. / Photo by Dan Brood

“We had it in our bag all week during practice,” Vyhlidal said. “We didn’t know if we were going to need to use it or not, but we used it, and it worked out just like we practiced it.”

Still, the dramatics didn’t end until the final play. Tualatin, with the ball at its 47-yard line with 7 seconds remaining, had one last chance. Senior quarterback Nolan Keeney scrambled his way down field, getting near the Mountainside 30, when he threw the ball across the field to junior Trenton Hertzog, who made the catch and took the ball all the way to the end zone. But a flag fell, and it was ruled that Keeney threw the ball forward to Hertzog, resulting in an illegal forward pass, ending the game and igniting the Mavericks’ victory celebration.

“This is just a great feeling, man,” Kellen Hicks said.

Lake Oswego challenge awaits Mavericks

Even as the celebration was ongoing on the Mountainside turf field after the thrilling victory over Tualatin, the Mavericks knew what challenge was ahead of them.

Mountainside will be in action next Friday when it faces top-seeded and undefeated Lake Oswego in a Class 6A Open quarterfinal at Lake Oswego High School.

“Oh yeah, it’s going to be a sweet game,” Kellen Hicks said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“It’s going to be a challenge, that’s for sure,” Mitchell said. “I respect them a lot, and they deserve it. But at the same time, we’re all the same age. They’re just a high school team, and we have to go take care of them.”

“I’ve been looking forward to playing them all year,” Vyhlidal said. “I’ve been watching them over in the Three Rivers League, dominating. They’re undefeated and a great team.”

That great team is led by, among others, junior running back LaMarcus Bell, who was named the Three Rivers League offensive player of the year, and talented junior quarterback Hudson Kurland.

The Lakers, who received a first-round bye, will bring a 9-0 record to the quarterfinal tilt.

“It’s going to be a great game, great competition. The toughest team will come out on top, and I’m excited to play them,” Vyhlidal said. “We just have to do our thing. We need to keep playing how we play. We need to show up to practice every day with the same mindset that we had this week. If we just play our game, we’ll be good.”

“We have to do the same thing we did this week,” Mitchell said. “We need to come out here and have a great Monday through Friday — and come out and get the job done.”

Evans does it all for Tualatin

It’s an impressive list of accomplishments — 48- and 43-yard field goals, a 12-yard touchdown run, a tackle to stop a fake punt short of a first down, a catch to convert a fake punt into a first down, a sack, two other tackles for loss and a 52-yard punt downed at the 1-yard line.

That sounds like a pretty good list for an entire season.

But it wasn’t for a season or even a month of games; Evans did all of those things in Friday’s playoff game at Mountainside.

“He makes field goals — every time,” Hachmeister said.

And so much more.

“I’ve always tried to contribute to the team any way I can, any way the coaches need me — kicking or playing linebacker or running the ball or catching the ball,” Evans said. “You just have to put everything out there. You have to show your boys that you love them, and you have to play for them.”

Calvin Evans does it all for Tualatin's offense, defense and special teams. / Photo by Dan Brood

Even with all he does for Tualatin’s offense, defense and special teams, Evans’ contribution to the Timberwolves is even more than that — just ask Hachmeister.

“That dude, he’s the nicest guy on the field — that’s for sure,” Hachmeister said. “He’s just a great guy to be around. He’s definitely a leader on the team, and he always gets the team going. I’m very grateful to get to have this season with Calvin.”

Timberwolves battle to the end

Even though their season came to an end, the Tualatin players are already looking back at their campaign with positive feelings.

“It was a great season,” Hachmeister said. “We definitely had our ups and downs, but we did our best. It was a good season, and I enjoyed it.”

“There was a lot of ups and downs. It’s been a journey,” Evans said. “We’ve been a close team. A lot of us have played together for a long time, and those who haven’t automatically joined the family.”

Keeney, Tualatin’s BYU-bound quarterback, had a big night with his scrambling ability, running for 131 yards and a touchdown and throwing a 50-yard touchdown pass to junior Calen Simonelic after a spectacular scramble in the backfield.

Next stop for Tualatin quarterback Nolan Keeney: BYU. / Photo by Dan Brood

Senior receiver Zhaiel Smith, just back from injury, ran for 45 yards and a touchdown and had three receptions.

Tualatin linemen Connor LaGrow, Xander Thompson, Tanner Dunn, Luke Schwab, Aiden Keister and Traven Rollis, among others, helped the Timberwolves rush for 331 yards on 33 carries.

For the Tualatin defense, junior Cody Hartley had three tackles for loss, Hertzog had two tackles for loss, and senior Tanner Dunn blocked an extra-point kick.

And, of course, there’s that final play, where Keeney’s cross-field pass looked oh-so-close to being a backward pass, which would have resulted in a winning touchdown.

“It’s a sad way to go out, but it’s been good,” Evans said.

For players returning next year, they’re already set to get going.

“We have to emphasize getting in the weight room, getting bigger,” Hachmeister said. “We have to come back stronger next year and hopefully have an even better season next year. I’m looking forward to it.”

Mountainside 44, Tualatin 39

Tualatin 13 - 17 - 9 - 0 – 39

Mountainside 7 - 16 - 7 - 14 – 44

First quarter

M – Sam Vyhlidal 30 run (Max Ryusaki kick)

T – Nolan Keeney 25 run (pass failed)

T – Calvin Evans 12 run (Evans kick)

Second quarter

M – Kellen Hicks 23 pass from Cade Mitchell (Ryusaki kick)

T – Zhaiel Smith 27 run (Evans kick)

M – Ryusaki 41 field goal

T – Calen Simonelic 50 pass from Keeney (Evans kick)

M – Julian Villastrigo fumble recovery in end zone (kick blocked)

T – Evans 48 field goal

Third quarter

T – Evans 43 field goal

M – Vyhlidal 4 run (Ryusaki kick)

Fourth quarter

M – Vyhlidal 10 run (Ryusaki kick)

T – Cole Hachmeister 81 run (run failed)

M – Vyhlidal 40 pass from Mitchell (Ryusaki kick)

STATISTICS

Rushing – Tualatin, Keeney 12-131, Hachmeister 12-116, Smith 3-45, Ry’Von Reese 5-27, Evans 1-12. Total 33-331. Mountainside, Vyhlidal 9-77, Jordan Hicks 19-76, Reece Ballew 12-61, Sean Gerigk 1-3, Mitchell 8-(-5). Total 48-212.

Passing – Tualatin, Keeney 5-17-0, 75 yards; Caden Knips 1-1-0, 10 yards. Mountainside, Mitchell15-21-0, 282 yards.

Receiving – Tualatin, Smith 3-22, Simonelic 1-50, Evans 1-10, Trenton Hertzog 1-3. Mountainside, Vyhlidal 5-104, Gerigk 4-102, Kellen Hicks 3-37, Jasiah Agnimel 1-40, Andrew Ramtel 1-1, Ballew 1-(-2).

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